Post by Logan on Jan 20, 2016 2:58:20 GMT -6
Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan Apologizes in Flint Water Crisis
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan issued a sweeping apology on Tuesday to the residents of Flint for a contaminated water supply. He pledged to promptly release his emails about the issue, and laid out more specifics than had previously been known about the state’s handling of the matter.
“I’m sorry, and I will fix it,” Mr. Snyder, a Republican, said in a State of the State address in which he took the unusual step of focusing on a painful issue that has consumed the state in recent weeks and has drawn condemnation from national politicians. “No citizen of this great state should endure this kind of catastrophe. Government failed you — federal, state and local leaders — by breaking the trust you place in us.”
Mr. Snyder, who has long boasted of advocating pragmatic solutions over casting blame, was uncharacteristically blunt, contrite and emphatic. “I’m sorry most of all that I let you down,” he said. “You deserve better. You deserve accountability. You deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. Most of all, you deserve to know the truth, and I have a responsibility to tell the truth.”
The scandal over the water in Flint has engulfed Mr. Snyder in the biggest crisis of his tenure and reverberated far beyond the state’s borders. In the last few days, it has drawn attention in the White House and prompted accusations that the state had ignored a health risk in a largely black city. Flint’s plight also emerged as an issue in Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate.
Continued at www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/obama-set-to-meet-with-mayor-of-flint-about-water-crisis.html .
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan issued a sweeping apology on Tuesday to the residents of Flint for a contaminated water supply. He pledged to promptly release his emails about the issue, and laid out more specifics than had previously been known about the state’s handling of the matter.
“I’m sorry, and I will fix it,” Mr. Snyder, a Republican, said in a State of the State address in which he took the unusual step of focusing on a painful issue that has consumed the state in recent weeks and has drawn condemnation from national politicians. “No citizen of this great state should endure this kind of catastrophe. Government failed you — federal, state and local leaders — by breaking the trust you place in us.”
Mr. Snyder, who has long boasted of advocating pragmatic solutions over casting blame, was uncharacteristically blunt, contrite and emphatic. “I’m sorry most of all that I let you down,” he said. “You deserve better. You deserve accountability. You deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. Most of all, you deserve to know the truth, and I have a responsibility to tell the truth.”
The scandal over the water in Flint has engulfed Mr. Snyder in the biggest crisis of his tenure and reverberated far beyond the state’s borders. In the last few days, it has drawn attention in the White House and prompted accusations that the state had ignored a health risk in a largely black city. Flint’s plight also emerged as an issue in Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate.
Continued at www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/obama-set-to-meet-with-mayor-of-flint-about-water-crisis.html .